New homes at the $20 million Hawaiki community, fronting Kupe St in Ōrākei. Photo / Michael Craig
Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Whai Rawa this month opened Hawaiki, a $20 million-plus 24-unit papa kāinga sold exclusively to hapū members, where homes can only be onsold to about 7000 registered whānau members.
Grant Kemble, Whai Rawa chief executive, said a dawn karakia was held at the new Ōrākei estate on the Kupe St/Hawaiki St corner.
“These homes are only for hapū and can only be resold to hapū,” Kemble said, telling how some banks initially expressed unwillingness to loan but BNZ and Westpac agreed.
Families have begun to move in. Already, the first baby was born there on December 17.
Kemble said Hawaiki was particularly significant for Ngāti Whātua.
“Some people can’t remember anyone in their family owning a home,” he said of the places in four blocks and 13 homes, developed on Whai Rawa land after Ngāti Whātua Ōākei bought it from the state.
That land is leased to homeowners on a 150-year term without any annual leasehold payments.
Removing the land from the purchase price made the new homes more affordable.
Hapū members were also assisted with finance via a shared equity scheme Whai Rawa offered.
“Some bought 100% outright. Some only bought 85% and we left 25% [of the purchase price] in. That allowed them to afford the home. They will then buy [the rest] from us over 30 years,” Kemble said.
The project has been a big success, with goals of assisting whanaū to own their own homes.
By December 18, only one of the 24 terraced homes remained unsold: the two-bedroom, two-level townhouse 18, for sale for $659,000.
Prices ranged from a one-bedroom two-level place sold for $395,000 to a four-bedroom three level home sold for $940,000.
Whai Rawa said of Hawaiki: “This marks a significant milestone in our journey to provide affordable and meaningful housing solutions for our whānau.
“Most [buyers] will be stepping into homeownership for the first time. Seeing this dream become a reality is a testament to the strength and resilience of our people and our commitment to keeping the fires of ahi kā roa burning strong.
“This development isn’t just about homes though. It’s about creating a thriving community where whānau can connect with their whenua and with each other. Hawaiki represents a new start and a desire for us to strive for more.”
Jasmax designed the homes, built by Vivian Construction on the Kupe St ridge between Pourewa Reserve and the Ōrākei marae, referred to as the green lungs of Takaparawhau/Bastion Point.
Both those sites are extremely significant for the hapū which featured in the Herald’s whenua series on June 25, 2024 when Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei deputy chairman Ngarimu Blair said: “We were almost wiped out - now we’re back.”
Hawaiki has weatherboard cladding, upper-level balconies, solar water heating, rainwater collection for reuse, energy-efficient appliances and limited allocated car parking grouped at both edges of the site.
Internal living areas are elevated to maintain privacy while allowing for whānau to connect and interact with each other in a communal garden located through the middle of the site, Jasmax said.
Funding from Te Tūāpapa Kura Kāinga Ministry of Housing and Urban Development’s Māori infrastructure fund and progressive home ownership fund assisted hapū members into home ownership.
“Leasehold is a putoff for many banks as is the fact these places can only be resold to hapū,” he said.
Three Whai Rawa executives including Kemble negotiated directly with the BNZ and Westpac which agreed to loan for Hawaiki mortgages. Kemble said BNZ head of institutional property Matthew Binns was instrumental.
Binns is the son of former Meridian Energy chief executive Mark Binns who ran Fletcher Building’s construction division for some years.
Kemble said Whai Rawa made “no margin on the development, they go at cost”, he said of home sales.
There was never a profit incentive behind the scheme to begin with.
“But it’s wrong to describe them as affordable. We talk about them being more affordable. We’ve taken the land part out and we’ve taken the civil works like electrical and water out,” he said of the developers selling the homes without charging for these factors.
“Excluding the land, the cost of the development is over $20 million.”
Representatives from both banks were at this month’s pōwhiri and asked if they could give documentation on the Hawaiki finance measures to other iwi.
That, he thinks, means Hawaiki’s financing could be a blueprint to help other Māori elsewhere achieve housing dreams.
“With support from BNZ and Westpac, we’ve established a framework to provide direct lending for our whānau which we hope can assist other iwi to unlock their whenua for whānau-focused housing developments,” Whai Rawa said.
The site is not fully developed: Kemble said Whai Rawa wants to develop a new rental housing block of up to three levels on the corner slice between the two streets. But financing for that project has yet to be arranged.
This is Whai Rawa’s second housing project on the Kupe St ridge: the first was Kāinga Tuatahi, a 30-home terraced housing scheme which opened in 2016 after 12 state homes were demolished.
Around 80% of those were affordable, sold for $550,000 or less when completed in 2016.
At Hawaiki, Kemble said owners were discussing te ao Māori design features or art, yet to be installed.
But one observer indicated exterior ornamentation wasn’t really needed there. It was what was on the inside that mattered: “The actual community is the Māori part.”
Anne Gibson has been the Herald’s property editor for 24 years, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.
Fletcher Building, Spark and Ryman are potentially all on the radar.